New Delhi: Ravi Shastri, the current team director will soon become the new India coach, according to a newspaper report.

Shastri, 53, could also become the highest paid cricket coach in the world with a deal estimated to be worth Rs 7 crore-a-year. He was paid Rs 4 crore-a-year by the BCCI for his role as a TV commentator and had a Rs 6 crore-a-year contract as team director. If the current reports are to believe, Shastri will make significantly more than Ducnan Fletcher (Rs 4.2 crore), whose contract ended with the World Cup.

The new appointment is expected to be announced at the end of the Bangladesh tour.

Shastri, who played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India, has been a hit with the senior members of the team since his appointment as director during the tour of Engalnd last year. Test captain Virat Kohli had also expressed confidence in Shastri. The overwhelming support from within the team reportedly sealed the deal for BCCI, who stopped looking for a coach immediately.

The newspaper report said, the board was planning to merge the role of team director and coach, appointing Shastri the head coach. Shastri will have a free run of team. On team’s performance, his word would be final.

Whether Shastri will have an annual contract or a fixed term would only be known before India leave for Zimbabwe in July, sources said.